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His smile during the post-game press conference.

That’s what I will remember most about University of Texas quarterback Arch Manning’s game against Ole Miss.

Why was his smile so significant?

Because it’s the first time I’ve seen a real smile from Manning this season. The rest of the time, he hasn’t even looked like he enjoys playing football anymore.

But that smile…

It was good to see.

Arch Manning looks happy. It’s the first time this season I’ve seen him look genuinely happy.

He’s fought through adversity and he hasn’t given up, and that too is a piece to his evaluation puzzle 🧩 pic.twitter.com/mVgq5zfIQO

— FIRST ROUND MOCK (@firstroundmock) October 25, 2026

How did Manning perform during the game?

Hot-and-cold.

Hot in the first half, and cold in the second.

WATCH TEXAS VS. OLE MISS BY CLICKING HERE

He looked determined before the opening kickoff, and that carried him to halftime.

What was the result of his determination?

Short passes and handoffs.

What else?

That’s about it.

I’m not exaggerating. Per Pro Football Focus (PFF), 16 out of 18 completions were 9 yards or less. That’s the kind of stuff game managers are made of. Outside of that, he was 1/2 in the intermediate route level (10-19 yards) and 1/6 deep (20+ yards). To his defense, one of those failed deep passing attempts was a bad-looking drop by Texas wide receiver Cam Coleman.

⎯Out of his 30 total pass attempts, I tallied 20 of those as first-read throws (meaning he threw to the first location he looked at after the snap).

Sounds pretty conservative and elementary-looking.

It was.

Have to mention Manning’s time to throw number

Per PFF⎯

2.51 seconds.

What’s significant about that?

It’s his fastest time to throw as a starter at Texas (2025-2026). Granted, it was mostly short passes.

Arch Manning produced his fastest time to throw since he took over as the starter (Pro Football Focus: 2.51 seconds vs. Ole Miss). pic.twitter.com/hoxYwc1fAQ

— FIRST ROUND MOCK (@firstroundmock) October 25, 2026

Other “NFL concerns” about Manning vs. Ole Miss?

Operated exclusively out of shotgun formation (NFL quarterbacks need to also take snaps directly under center)

Clapping cadence (NFL quarterbacks use a verbal cadence)

Tendency to allow the pass rush to “overcrowd” him in the pocket, which resulted in him getting hit several times as he threw

Demonstrated little to no pocket awareness

Sling-shot throwing motion (overly dependent on his upper body when releasing)

Tendency to lock into targets and stare at them for an extra noticeable moment before releasing

Tendency to telegraph throws by patting the ball pre-delivery

Disturbing ball security (2 pass breakups and 2 interceptions)

Below-average protecting his body as a runner

Emotional rollercoaster (His body language looked different in the first half vs. the second half. In the first half, he was really fired up when they were scoring and things were going well, and in the second half, he looked more subdued when the offense bogged down)

Run game support

This was something else that stood out.

It looked like Manning was too dependent on the run game.

Texas ran the ball 42 times for 207 yards (Manning accounted for 8 of those rushing attempts).

NFL takeaway

Texas held off the Rebels’ second-half surge that ended with a potential game-tying touchdown being intercepted by the Longhorns as time expired. That’s how close Texas came to going into overtime. Texas 34-Ole Miss 27. That was the final score. But that’s not what this is about.

It’s about Manning.

I’ll say this: it’s not a coincidence that Texas scored 24 of their points in the first half when Manning was “hot.” It’s also not a coincidence that their last scoring touchdown drive in the 4th quarter featured six runs and zero passes when Manning cooled off.

Outside of seeing Manning smile after it was all over, I thought the biggest positive for him was his response to losing two straight previous games and facing a lot of resulting national criticism; he dug down deep and found a way to win.

Daniel Kelly is a former NFL Scout with the New York Jets. He was hired on the regime which featured Bill Parcells, Bill Belichick, Scott Pioli, Mike Tannenbaum, and Dick Haley. He is currently the Editor-in-Chief for First Round Mock, and has written for Sports Illustrated (Lions, Jets, and 49ers), NFL Draft Diamonds, and Yardbarker, as well as appearing as a guest on ESPN Radio, Fox Sports Radio, and Fearless with Jason Whitlock. Featured in USA Today. For more information, visit whateverittakesbook.com. Follow on Twitter @firstroundmock.